Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Breathless (1960)

After stealing a car and killing a cop, Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) needs to lay-low. And lay he does, with the beautiful American newspaper girl Patricia (Jean Seberg), but can she be trusted?

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Watching a Jean-Luc Godard film can be a challenge. Expressing how he was feeling that day on set ALWAYS trumps plot. And as the 1960s progressed (war, riots, divorce) Godard's feelings and films became gradually more morose. This is why I recommend his first film, Breathless. The sheer energy of it is astounding. You can tell that Godard had a lot on his mind and was aching to get it all out at once. By the end of this cinematic tornado of staccato jump-cuts and free-wheeling camera moves, you feel as though you've run a marathon. You find yourself literally...breathless.